On the evening of September 8, 2017, 26-year-old Jerry Luis Mass, a male resident of Pennsauken, New Jersey, was found deceased in his apartment on Stockton Avenue. Pennsauken police officers, responding to a 911 call around 5:25 p.m., discovered him on the floor with a fatal gunshot wound. The incident was quickly determined to be a homicide that occurred during an armed robbery.
The subsequent investigation by the Camden County Prosecutor's Office led to the identification and arrest of two suspects. Damian Sanchez, 29, of Camden, and Danny Smith, 44, of Woodlynne, were charged in connection with the killing. According to the prosecutor's office, Sanchez and another unidentified man entered Mass's apartment to rob him while Smith waited near the doorway. During the robbery, Mass was shot. The three men then fled the scene in a car that was allegedly driven by Smith.
Investigators later revealed that the suspects stole a safe containing $10,000 from the home, a crime that was witnessed by a woman holding a young child.
Danny Smith was arrested at his home on September 21, 2017, and faced a series of charges, including first-degree felony murder, armed robbery, and several weapons offenses. U.S. Marshals arrested Damian Sanchez on October 3, 2017, charging him with felony murder and conspiracy to commit robbery. Authorities noted that both suspects had prior criminal records; Sanchez was on parole for a previous aggravated manslaughter conviction, and Smith had past convictions for armed robbery and aggravated assault. Both men were held in Camden County Correctional Facility pending trial.
